Anytime you add on, you should conduct a heat-loss review of your house and also the proposed addition to ensure that your current heating and air conditioning units can handle the additional square footage. Simply because additions commonly have 3 walls detached from the existing structure, their heating and cooling requirements are often different from the rest of your home.
You may wish to consider adding a separate heating and air conditioning zone so that your new room or rooms are comfy. This is especially true for additions on the north side of the home in cooler climates and also the south side of the house in warmer climates. It will price you a little more money to add a brand new zone, however it will be money well spent.
Hot-air furnaces generally possess about 10 to 15 percent additional capacity. So if your addition only increases the size of your house by this percentage, your furnace may be quite capable of carrying the added load, according to builder Alan Hanbury. Hanbury says that hot water or steam furnaces generally have 30 to 40 percent additional capacity so that much bigger additions can be supported without changing the size of the boiler.
In any event, completing a thorough heat-loss review of your existing house and proposed addition is imperative. The last thing you need to do is begin cutting into your new walls, floors, and ceilings to upgrade your HVAC system if your budget is already tight.
Your water heater is another component of your heating system that is often overlooked. All too often, property owners get excited about their new whirlpools or bubble tubs only to discover in the midst of filling their new pride and joy that their 30-gallon water heater cannot do the job. Lukewarm bubbles just don't do the trick for your aching muscles.
If you are putting in a big tub, make sure your water heater is properly sized. You might even wish to look into tankless water heaters that can deliver piping hot water for your bath. If your tub holds more than 30 gallons (or you're considering a shower with several heads), you may want to consider talking to your contractor or plumber about increasing the size of the water supply lines to your new bathroom.
This can occasionally get very expensive, as new lines might have to go all the way back to exactly where water enters your home. But, again, think resale worth: If the multiple-head shower only trickles water, how impressed do you think any potential homebuyer will be? They'll likely start looking for more things that might be incorrect with your home.
Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Articleinput.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.
Note: This article was sent to us by: Anthony C. Lee at 01282011
1. Get clients for your Interior Decorator Business
All articles are property of their respective authors. Please read our Privacy Policy!
© 2009 ArticleInput.com.
Partners: Damenmode